In order to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages to the west, the eight-part TV special "Zheng He's Voyages to the West" jointly shot by the Association for the Development and Promotion of the Chinese Culture, the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee, the Publicity Department of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee is to be put on air by CCTV, Taiwan and oversea TV stations.

　　The shooting of the TV special started in March 2004. The shooting team went to such places as Jiangsu, Fujian, Yunnan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Taiwan, Macao and Hong Kong and such countries as Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Brunei, Yemen, India, South Africa, Kenya, UK, Spain and Portugal to interview and shoot, covering a total of over 100,000 km. They interviewed more than 200 high-profile political figures in Asia, Africa and Europe such as Wahid, former President of Indonesia, and Aquino, former President of the Philippines, and some Chinese diplomats in foreign countries.

　　The TV series has a total of eight parts with 45 minutes each. It has disclosed such mysteries as the confirmation of former President Wahid's ancestor being a member of Zheng He's fleet, the relation between the remains of a red sandalwood boat in Australia and Zheng He's voyages to the west, the looking for the offspring of Zheng He's sailors in east Africa, the excavation of the helm of Zheng He's treasure ship and the verification of the length of Zheng He's treasure ship.

　　By Gao Jiquan

　　(July 12, PLA Daily)